WeightWatchers Acquires Company That Can Prescribe Weight Loss Drugs
The acquisition of telehealth company Sequence represents WeightWatchers' entrance into the Ozempic market, the Wall Street Journal notes. Separately, the Food and Drug Administration is said to be planning to check if the most common OTC decongestant, phenylephrine, is actually effective.
The Wall Street Journal:
WeightWatchers Moves Into The Ozempic Market With Telehealth Deal
WW International Inc., known as WeightWatchers, is buying digital health company Sequence, marking the diet company’s move into the hot market for diabetes and obesity drugs including Ozempic and Wegovy. Sequence is a subscription service that offers telehealth visits with doctors who can prescribe the drugs. WeightWatchers, which has long promised to help customers lose weight through food-tracking and lifestyle changes, is moving to also offer customers a medical weight-loss approach. (Petersen, 3/6)
In FDA news —
CBS News:
FDA Panel To Reevaluate The Most Common Over-The-Counter Decongestant, Phenylephrine, Criticized As Useless
The Food and Drug Administration plans to ask a panel of its outside advisers to reconsider whether the most common decongestant ingredient available over the counter, phenylephrine, is effective. There has been a renewed petition to pull it from store shelves over studies showing it was no more effective than a placebo in pills and syrups. (Tin, 3/6)
Stat:
FDA Chief Q And A: Obesity Drugs, Approvals, Threats
FDA Commissioner Robert Califf said on Monday that it “bothers” him that Novo Nordisk, which makes an obesity medication, funded the development of obesity coursework for medical schools. But he also said he saw it as an example of a drug company filling the void left by health systems that aren’t teaching doctors and trainees how to use new medicines. (Joseph, 3/7)
The Boston Globe:
Full Approval And Medicare Coverage Of New Alzheimer’s Drug Could Come In July
A closely watched therapy for Alzheimer’s disease could become more accessible this summer. Cambridge-based Biogen and Japan-based Eisai announced Sunday evening that federal regulators would make a decision whether to grant their drug full approval by July 6, a verdict that all-important Medicare coverage hinges on. (Cross, 3/6)
In other pharmaceutical and biotech developments —
Reuters:
Talc Supplier Hit With $29 Mln Verdict In South Carolina Trial
A South Carolina jury has ordered former talc supplier Whittaker, Clark & Daniels to pay $29.14 million to a woman who said she developed mesothelioma from being exposed to asbestos-tainted talc in cosmetic products. The jury in Columbia on Friday also found that talc manufacturer IMI Fabi was not responsible for plaintiff Sarah Plant's illness, clearing it of liability, according to Jessica Dean, a lawyer for the plaintiff. (Pierson, 3/6)
Reuters:
Altria To Revive Vaping Push With $2.8 Bln NJOY Bid After Juul Fiasco
Altria Group Inc. said on Monday it would buy startup NJOY Holdings Inc for about $2.75 billion in cash, in a fresh bet by the Marlboro maker on the e-cigarette market after losing billions through its investment in Juul. ... Altria is betting that NJOY will prove to be an easier way to tap the market since six of the company's products have received full approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (Sophia, 3/6)
The Boston Globe:
Foundation Charges Cancer Patients $83,000 For Unproven Therapy
It has been more than 11 years since Julia Young was diagnosed with advanced ovarian cancer, and two years since it spread to her lymph system. By her own account, she has already beaten the odds for how long most women survive the deadly disease. Still, when doctors told her last year that the cancer was growing despite two operations, radiation therapy, and a fifth regimen of chemotherapy, the retired business-meeting facilitator decided to do something unorthodox: spend $83,000 out of pocket on an unproven experimental cancer vaccine. (Saltzman, 3/6)
Modern Healthcare:
NIH's All Of Us Research Program Database Aims To Improve Care
When Dr. Jeffrey Whittle graduated from medical school in 1984, colleagues told him he’d soon be using patients’ genetic information to manage their care. By studying a patient’s genome, or entire set of DNA, in conjunction with other factors such as lifestyle or environment, clinicians would be able to determine which medication is best suited to treat their cholesterol, diabetes or hypertension. (Berryman, 3/6)
Stat:
In Theranos's Backyard, Scientist Takes Another Crack At Blood Tests
Step outside the quiet Stanford Medicine building where geneticist and prominent big data expert Mike Snyder has spent years poring over tiny samples of blood, and you can just see the outline of 1701 Page Mill Road, one of the original offices of Theranos. (Ravindranath, 3/7)
